Twenty defendants have been indicted and charged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal cars throughout New York City and its suburbs, according to an announcement by the Queens District Attorney’s office.

The vehicles, valued at more than $4.6 million, were then sold through advertisements on social media platforms.

The indictments resulted from a three-year investigation, dubbed Operation Hellcat, by the Queens District Attorney’s office, the NYPD, and New York State Police.

The defendants are charged with the criminal possession of 126 cars, 44 of which were purchased by undercover officers. The investigation involved the use of court-authorized wiretaps and also resulted in the seizure of three weapons, including a semi-automatic rifle.

The investigation began in April 2022, when the Queens District’s Attorney’s Office started a joint investigation with the NYPD Auto Crimes Unit’s Major Case Team and the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, Auto Theft Unit, Long Island into the theft of high-end vehicles in New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties as well as New Jersey.

Investigators uncovered a highly coordinated auto theft enterprise with individuals who possessed specific skill sets and expertise – a theft group, social media brokers who advertised and sold cars, and black-market dealers and buyers, all relying on one another to target and steal cars.

The thefts started in a low-tech manner, targeting cars that were left unlocked with the key fobs inside. The suspects then progressed to breaking into locked vehicles by using a screwdriver to punch out the driver’s side door lock or breaking car windows to gain access. Once inside, they used a handheld device to connect to the car’s onboard diagnostics system and program a new key fob.

The theft crew would then disable the car’s navigation system and dispose of any tracking devices so the owner could not pinpoint the vehicle’s location.

At times, the defendants allegedly utilized scouts who identified high-end automobiles to steal. The scouts pinned the location of the car on a digital map and sent that information to the theft group. Members of theft crew then went out in groups of three to five to steal the cars.

Some of the stolen cars were parked for a short time on public streets so that, if a tracking system was still operable and police found the vehicle, it would not be traced to the theft crew. The group also obscured the VIN or changed the license plates to fake or stolen tags.

Once a car was stolen, the vehicles were often sold to brokers within the organization’s network and also advertised for sale in the New York City area through Facebook Marketplace, Instagram and Telegram.

The brokers quickly flipped the cars without altering the VINs, commanding below-market prices from approximately $1,000 to $6,000 per car.

Three of the defendants, including two men who live in Tennessee, were considered dealers who allegedly bought cars directly from other members of the ring to resell them.

The stolen cars included 38 Acuras, 24 Hondas, 23 BMWs, 20 Dodges and three Jeeps.

Fifty-two cars were stolen in Queens, 25 in Brooklyn, 14 in Nassau County, 10 in the Bronx, 10 in Westchester County, nine in Staten Island, three in Suffolk County, one in Manhattan, one in New Jersey and one in Massachusetts.

The undercover officers also purchased three firearms — a semi-automatic rifle and two pistols.

Sixteen defendants were arrested yesterday in New York and Tennessee.

One of the defendants had also been charged earlier this year after officers responded to a 911 call on January 2, 2025, of an auto theft of a 2022 Acura TLX in progress in Queens Village. An NYPD officer spotted the speeding Acura and followed it. Upon exiting the front passenger seat, he tossed a laptop bag on the ground and began walking away before being stopped by officers. A search of the bag found a key reprogramming device and several generic key fobs.

“This is one of the most prolific and organized auto theft rings we have ever uncovered in New York City,” said District Attorney Melinda Katz. “With these indictments, we have dismantled a criminal enterprise that stole at least $4.6 million worth of vehicles from our streets and driveways. Our painstaking investigation employed undercover officers and court-authorized wiretaps to disrupt these determined car thieves. I thank our partners at the NYPD, New York State Police and National Insurance Crime Bureau for their professionalism and expertise during this investigation.”

NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said criminals stole hundreds of vehicles, trafficking them across state lines and exploiting technology to bypass security.

The investigation was conducted by members of the NYPD Auto Crime Unit’s Major Case Team and members of the New York State Police Special Investigations Unit, Auto Theft Unit, Long Island.